Where to Go: The Start of a New Beginning
by Witch08
Summary: Bumblebee is a young girl who has it bad. Her parents are abusive, she is mute and can not say a word, and believes she is nothing but worthless. Full summary inside. READ AUTHOR'S NOTE IN CHAPTER 4!
1. Chapter 1

**Where to Go: The Start of a New Beginning**

**Chapter 1: Meetings of a Different Kind**

She wanted out. She was tired of it all and all she wanted was her freedom. She curled in on herself and thought that perhaps being mute had its advantages after all as she hid from her abusive parents.

Arcee shook her head at the antics of the Twins. At the moment, they were running away from the Autobots' CMO, Ratchet, after pouring a gallon bucket of ice, cold water on him while he was still sleeping in bed. Nearby, the fast-talker Blurr and special ops Jazz were laughing their heads off at the whole thing.

"Idon'tknowaboutyou,butifIwerethemIwouldgetmysorryaftouttaherebeforeIgetcaught," Blurr said while still laughing.

Jazz laughed even harder and said, "Yeah, but next time, Blurr, slow down when you speak."

Arcee shook her head again and went outside. Upon entering outside of her home, the Autobots' base, Arcee could hear the sizzling and bangs of weaponry. Heading toward the source of the commotion, Arcee wasn't once surprised to find that it was Ironhide doing some training in the shooting range with his cannons and other guns.

Upon seeing Arcee, Ironhide paused and decided to put his gun down for a moment. Once his hands were free, he said, "What ya need, kiddo?"

"Arcee, Ironhide. My name's Arcee," she replied while frowning.

Ironhide shrugged and said, "So what?"

Sighing, Arcee instead said, "I just have a bad feeling, that's all."

Ironhide sent an apprehensive glance Arcee's way before looking away and said, "Ya better get ready for school. Isn't the Academy visiting a public school today?"

Surprised at the change of topic, Arcee responded, "Yeah, why?"

"Just keep a lookout for possible Autobots. You know our team is still missing members."

"I know, I know." With that, Arcee turned around and went inside to save Sunstreaker and Sideswipe from Ratchet so they could get ready for the school day ahead.

Bumblebee looked down at her injured body. The abuse from her parents was getting worse every day and she wasn't sure how much more she could take. One of these days, they were going to kill her with all the abuse. Letting a soundless sigh escape her lips, she pulled down the long sleeves of the warm sweater even though it was more than ninety degrees Fahrenheit outside. She just had to keep it a secret, otherwise the abuse would get worse quicker than the gradual pace that it's taking now. How she wished she could just escape, but she knew she couldn't. This was her life, and was to be forever for a useless and worthless thing like her.

Taking one more look in the mirror to make sure that her makeup was covering the cuts and bruises on her face, Bumblebee grabbed her backpack and left for school.

"Today is going to be absolutely _boring_," Sideswipe groaned.

"Nonsense,andyouknowwhatelse?Ithinkthattodayisgoingtobefun,'llevenfindanotherAutobottojointheteam," Blurr responded.

Sideswipe snorted as he looked over at Arcee. She was still strangely quite like she has been all morning. That in itself was unusual. "What are you so quiet for?"

Arcee looked at him and said, "What makes you say that?"

"Wellforoneyou'requietandyou'rehardlyeverquiet,'sonyourmind,h-uh,Arcee?"

"Blurr, you're going to have to stop doing that," Sideswipe remarked.

"Stopdoingwhat?"

Sideswipe only sighed with a pained look over his face. Arcee grinned slightly as the attention was taken away from her. Behind her, Hot Rod and Springer laughed.

Hot Rod suddenly stopped laughing and yelled, "Look!"

His friends stopped what they were doing and looked over in the direction that he was pointing. There across the street, some mean-looking guy pushed a young girl, younger than them by the looks of it, out into the middle of the street and right into the path of an eighteen wheeler.

Quickly putting on some speed, Blurr ran out into the street and pulled the young girl out of the way right in the nick of time.

Running over to Blurr, his friends could already hear him talking fast to the young girl.

Bumblebee stood still as she waited for the sign at the crosswalk change to 'Walk.' While waiting, Bumblebee saw a group of older teens across from her on the other side of the street. They looked to be around the age of fifteen and from the way they were laughing, they looked like they were having the time of their lives. Bumblebee felt her spark flutter and wished she could be like them: happy and carefree. Unfortunately, though, she didn't have that luxury, as she didn't deserve it for being the cause of all that went wrong and for simply existing. She was a burden and a mistake to all of those around her.

Bumblebee suddenly felt herself flying through the air and land landed harshly on the hard cement of the street. Looking up, she saw that it was the fifteen-year-old Barricade who pushed her.

_BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!_

Bumblebee looked away from Barricade's evil smirking face to what was heading her way. An eighteen-wheeler was coming right at her! As fear gripped her spark, Bumblebee could only watch as death came speeding towards her.

Suddenly, a warm pair of hands grabbed her and she flinched. Both arms encircled her and wrapped themselves around her waist as they pulled her out of harm's way. Looking up to her savior, she saw a teenage boy, older than herself, with blue eyes and blue hair. The boy's hair was short and had a shaggy look to it. He was also wearing a cerulean blue t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. His face bore the expressions of worry and concern.

"Hey,areyoualright?" he asked.

Bumblebee blinked. She had never heard someone talk so fast before. Nodding minutely, the boy helped her up.

"Areyousureyou'realright,Imeanthatmust'vebeenscary,andwhayaren'tyoutalking? Didyouloseyourvoicefromthatfall,didyoubreakanything–"

"Blurr, could you slow down a bit? I think the poor girl's dazed," said another boy as he interrupted the fast talker, only this one had red hair, blue eyes, and a red outfit with flame prints.

Blurr looked over at the girl in his arms. She indeed seemed dazed and confused at what he was saying. But what caught his attention wasn't the dazed or confused look, but rather the fear that lied underneath those expressions.

Arcee must have noticed, too, since a second later she said, "Hey, now, there's nothing to be afraid of." Looking closer, Arcee noticed that the young girl was indeed younger than they by at least a year were or so, give or take. The lass was so small, smaller than Arcee herself even, that she looked like she could easily break, especially with one small push or the brush of the wind. She also had blonde hair that looked to be natural curls and came to just past the bottom of her shoulders. She had clear, crystal blue eyes and was wearing a loose, long-sleeved yellow and black horizontal striped sweater, and a pair of loose black jeans. The outfit was finished off with a pair of white sneakers.

Quickly as if scared, Bumblebee grabbed her notebook that she used to write what she wanted to say in. Tearing a strip of paper out, she wrote a 'Thank you' without even giving her name and left. Looking down at the note that was stuffed into his hand, Blurr read what it said.

Looking over Blurr's shoulder, Sunstreaker snorted and said, "That's it? Why didn't she come right out and say–"

"Chill, Sunshine. A cat must've had her tongue or something," Sideswipe remarked, not paying attention to his twin brother's scowl.

"I don't think so, Sides. She didn't even yell when she was pushed out into the street," ventured Arcee. "I think something is terribly wrong with her. And why was she wearing a warm sweater with the temperature as hot as it is? That's suspicious in itself. It seems that she just might be hiding something underneath.

The group of friends looked at each other with a foreboding feeling before pushing a button on their hidden headsets and calling back home to base to report their findings and suspicions. After getting reassurance that Prowl, Jazz, and Ironhide would come to the public school they were going to, the group continued on their way to the Academy before they had to leave.

The morning that was going by was awful, just awful and terrible, a real living nightmare. Already Barricade cornered her, pulling her to his side and ran his hands roughly down her body, hinting at something much worse that was in store for her made by her parents' latest and most recent decision. That alone terrified her.

At the moment she and her fellow schoolmates were waiting out in the schoolyard for the visiting arrivals from the prestigious Academy. Luckily for her, though, was that the students had to stand with their own grade, which meant that Barricade and his gang of pals weren't in her grade. Unfortunately, they were in the next grade up, and thus standing right behind her. This day just couldn't get any worse. Jumping slightly when she felt a hand grab roughly where she didn't want it, Bumblebee slapped the offending hand away, turning to glare at her torturers before returning her attention to in front of her. Completely surprised, Bumblebee couldn't help but almost gawk at some of the students from the Academy in front of her. There right across from her were the group of older teens that saved her from this morning! And to top that off, they glimpsed her within the sea of student across from them and were now staring at her!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Trouble Begins**

She stood corrected. The day had just gotten worse! She couldn't believe that the six people she ran into this morning were Academy students! Primus, what must they think of her? And to make matters even worse than that was when Barricade pulled her into him, glaring at the newcomers and his grip painfully tight on her upper arm.

The six of them only glared right back. Primus, what had she done? Feeling tears well up in her eyes, Bumblebee refused to let them fall as the following events went into play.

They couldn't believe it. The guy gripping the young girl's arm was the same guy who nearly killed her! And why wasn't the girl fighting back? Why did she have the look and feel of a defeated person about her? They knew that she attended this school since it was the only public school in the area for her to go to. Were their suspicions true? Could there be something terribly wrong with her? Could she be hiding something?

Arcee shook her head from the thought as to what that small girl could be hiding and why she wasn't fighting back. No one deserved to live that kind of life! No one deserved that kind of treatment! Looking over at her friends, she saw that they were thinking the exact same thing.

The main doors to the school opened and in stepped four men. The small group looked at each other in surprise. They were expecting Ironhide, Jazz, and Prowl, but they weren't expecting Ratchet to accompany them! Either way, they were thankful for the fourth man, nonetheless. He was sure to be needed.

Bumblebee stood as still as possible as she watched the four men walk up to the group of teens across from her. After a brief, hushed conversation, the four men looked over their shoulders at her before going over to her principal. Barricade's grip on her arm tightened in a silent warning as the principal and the four men came over.

Barricade reluctantly let go of Bumblebee's arm as one of the men gently took hold of her right hand and started to lead her away from her fellow classmates, with the teens she met this morning following right behind. Oh yeah, the day just got much, much worse. Only once they were in an empty room did Jazz finally let go of Bumblebee's hand. From the moment he took hold of her hand, he feared that even the slightest pressure from his could cause her serious harm since she seemed so frail and delicate. And it only took one look at her pale face for him to want to chase her fears away, but, alas, he had a job to do first.

"Okay, Sunmist," she said as he recalled the name that the principal called her, "can you tell us about anything that happened this morning?"

Oh, how she hated that name. And how she wished she could tell them that her real name was Bumblebee, but to do so would mean that she would be breaking and violating one of her parents' most important rule, and that meant severe punishment. Bumblebee somehow managed not to shiver and instead shook her head in a 'no' in answer to the man's question.

Jazz shook his head and looked over at his companions. It was clear to all four of them that she did know some clue as to what had happened earlier that morning, but was rather reluctant to speak up about it. And why wasn't she speaking at all? Jazz sighed and said, "Alright. Now, Sunmist, could you tell us why you are wearing a sweater on a day like this when it's already more than ninety degrees?"

Bumblebee's eyes glazed over in complete fear as she frantically shook her head in the answer 'No!' She couldn't let them find out! If they did, her parents would be absolutely furious!

Since she looked like she would run off at any given second, Jazz decided to prevent that by quickly waving Ironhide over to keep from bolting. As soon as he was near enough to grip her arm, a fire alarm went off within the school and Bumblebee bolted out the door before anyone could react.

As soon as they got out the door and into the hall, the visiting Autobots saw that the girl was already far enough away from them.

"I don't know if the rest of you have noticed, but that girl has the signs that she just might be abused," Ratchet informed his comrades.

Bumblebee joined the queue of students out in the hallways. Talk about close timing! Not even a minute later of her escape, Barricade cam up behind her with his friends, Blackout and Scorponok, and grabbed her upper arm, starting to lead her away from the mass of students and towards her parents' waiting car.

Pushing down the urge to run away, Bumblebee climbed into the backseat, preparing herself for the beating she was sure to get once at home.

Prowl felt like he was going to blow. After finding out that there was no fire and that someone only pulled the switch in false alarm, they discovered that the girl's parents had signed her out.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, the tactician said, "At least we got the girl's address. And since we're on duty as law enforcers at the moment, her parents can not deny us from coming into their abode."

After going by the base to drop off their charges, they asked Prime if they could borrow Elita since she would possibly be needed.

"Good. The sooner, the better," Ratchet growled, worried for the young girl. The remark barely made it past his lips when they arrived at their destination. From their position, they heard a loud 'THUMP!' a room on the second-story. Looking at each other with alarm, Jazz stepped up to the door and knocked.

Once at home, her parents dragged her out of the car and into the house. There in the living room, waiting for them, was a tall man in his late thirties, his hair as dark as the darkest raven, his being scarred, hardened, and worn from years of war and battle, and his face filled with malice.

Bumblebee shivered slightly as the man sent his gaze to her before turning to talk with her parents in hushed tones. A few hours later he finally left, flashing her a cruel and wicked smile that promised nothing but torture in the future, and her parents turned towards her.

"Well, you little mistake, your mother and I have come to the decision of giving you away in the next month. Our Lord Megatron's thirty-ninth birthday is coming up, and as our gift to him, we are giving him you to do with what he wishes."

Bumblebee gulped, only imagining what horrors she would face when in the hands of that man. But she had no choice in the matter, she had been brought up to be submissive and obedient in everything. Which meant that if her parents wanted her to go with this cruel man, she had to. And that also meant that whatever he wanted, she had to do and give.

While she was assaulted by her thoughts, her parents decided that it was now time to punish her for what had happened earlier at school. Bumblebee's father stepped forward and grabbed her arm, proceeding to drag her upstairs to her room where he "punished" her for hours on end.

A few hours later, Bumblebee stumbled back from the harsh slap to her face, the left side of her face burning red with a stinging feeling left behind from the offending hand. Before she could even react, her father grabbed her arm and slammed her into the wall, her back hitting it harshly.

"Be glad it's nothing more than that and that those fools didn't find out," her father growled. "You didn't happen to 'tell' them your real name, did you?"

Bumblebee shook her head in a desperate 'no.' As he gave one last contemptuous look at her, Bumblebee's father left the room. Bumblebee let her head rest against the was for a moment before standing up painfully. Once she steadied herself, Bumblebee walked over to the adjoining bathroom of her room. After filling the bathtub with hot water and bubbles, Bumblebee slowly eased herself into the water and began to clean herself up as best she could, all the while having no clue as to what was going on downstairs, who was there, and what was to happen next.

As soon as the door opened, the present Autobots could barely stop themselves from rushing right on in. There in front of them was a young woman in her mid-thirties. She had raven-black hair and midnight blue eyes. Her outfit consisted of a black, v-neck t-shirt and tight-fitting black capris. Elita narrowed her eyes and barely suppressed her growl of extreme dislike. It was the Decepticon female, Nightflyer. And what shocked the present Autobots even more was the Decepticon coming up behind her, Megatron's computer, Shockwave! And to think that a possible Autobot, the very girl that they were concerned about, is in their care! They're now more than sure that their suspicions were correct!

Shockwave growled upon seeing the Autobots. "What do you Autobrats want?" he sneered while his wife looked on in distaste at the Autobots.

Taking out their badges, Prowl and Jazz walked up and said, "We have reason to believe that an occupant of this household is being abused, which, as you surely know, is a heinous crime."

Since, at the moment, there was nothing they could do, they had no choice but to let the five Autobots in. But that didn't mean that they could delay them from seeing their "daughter" as proof that there was no abuse. No, the plan was that Nightflyer keep the Autobots busy while Shockwave went to tell Bumblebee to cover up all signs of the abuse they have inflicted upon her over the years. But before their plan into action, Elita, Jazz, and Ratchet left to look up stairs while Ironhide and Prowl were left to watch over the two Decepticons. They could hear Shockwave telling Prowl and Ironhide that their daughter was asleep and didn't want her to be bothered. After reaching the top of the stairway, the trio stopped to take in their surroundings. On each side of the hall were several doors. The question on their mind was which door to open?

While the three tried to figure out which door, something was telling them to go through the second door on the right. The door that led to the room that was right above the front door where they stood a few minutes earlier. Sparing a quick glance at each other, Jazz stepped forward with stealth before quietly opening the door. Inside was dark, but they could tell that no one was lying in the bed on the other side of the room in the corner. This only proved to them that Shockwave was lying earlier. Turning on the light switch beside the door, none of them could hold back a gasp at what they saw. On the floor were scattered areas of blood, some areas old while some areas were recently new. Ratchet walked over to the only dresser within the room and glanced inside one of the drawers. Inside the drawer was only some gauze, which could hardly be called a first aid kit. In all the other drawers and closet were some undergarments, long-sleeved clothes, and pants. The bed itself wasn't really a bed at all. It was made only of a torn mattress on the floor and a thin, musty, torn, old blanket, too small and worn to really be of any real use. There was a window above said bed and only one other door in the room. And from behind that door, the three Autobots could hear the sound of running water.

Once again they looked at each other before going through the door with Jazz in the lead and the door itself opening with a bang. They saw a flurry of quick movement before they saw the girl they were looking for with a towel around her and still in the bathtub. They realized that the girl had quick reflexes. They didn't even have the chance to see where her wounds could be! Then they took a closer look at the girl. Since their abrupt entrance, her eyes had widened in fear and her form was shaking slightly. Jazz took a step forward.

Bumblebee couldn't believe what had just happened as she pulled the towel around her tightly after the door busted open, her eyes dilated in fear at those before her and her mind racing. How did they find her?! They weren't supposed to be here!

Fortunately, though, the towel she clutched about her was large enough to cover her shoulders, with her arms underneath and her hands keeping the towel closed from the inside, and upper body while the rest of her hid beneath the water and bubbles. Unfortunately, one of the unexpected visitors was now walking towards her!

After Jazz kneeled down in front of her, he said, "Miss, we are here on some important business and have reason to believe that you may be abused within this household. Is this true?"

Bumblebee shook her head too quickly for her unspoken reply to be true. Subconsciously, she pulled the towel even tighter about her, as if it was enough of a barrier to keep her safe and to make these people go away.

Jazz let out a sad sigh and called Elita over. "Can you do anything?" he asked. He didn't know why, but Jazz had the strangest feeling that he knew this girl from somewhere else before, and _not_ from this morning either.

Upon seeing the girl for the first time, Elita immediately developed motherly feelings and affections for this girl. Kneeling down on both her knees in the previous occupied spot, Elita quietly said, "No one here is going to hurt you, sweetie. We're just concerned, and if our suspicions are true, then we want to put a stop to it and take you away from these horrible people." She reached out to touch the girl's face and felt makeup underneath her fingertips while at the same time the girl flinched, a look of pain crossing her features. Grabbing the bath cloth that was dropped by the girl earlier when she grabbed the present towel about her, Elita softly used it to wipe off the makeup while stopping the girl from pushing back and twisting away. She couldn't help the soft and terrified gasp that left her lips as she saw what was hidden away underneath all that makeup. The poor girl's face was littered with bruises and cuts, most of which were still healing.

Immediately, Ratchet ran up to them from his position by the door and bent down to lower the towel enough to see what lay underneath it but still allowing the girl some privacy. He felt disgusted at what has been done to this poor child, and immediately started giving orders that they needed to get this girl out of here now. He knew that Jazz was just as furious as he was and noticed that Elita had managed to take one of the frightened girl's hands and pulled her to her chest, all the while whispering to her and trying to provide comfort.

Taking a large, folded blanket out of the bag that he brought with him, Ratchet passed it to Elita, who in turn wrapped it around Bumblebee. Not wanting to take any chances with Bumblebee's wellbeing, Ratchet told Jazz to carry the girl. Jazz did as he was told and gripped Bumblebee gently, but firmly to prevent any struggling that she might do.

"It's okay, Sunmist," Elita cooed. "We're only getting you out of here." But personally, Elita didn't think that the name Sunmist suited the girl cradled within the saboteur's arms.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the four of them could see Shockwave and Nightflyer were arguing with Prowl and Ironhide. And some argument it was too! The screaming that was heard from her parents sent Bumblebee into a case of the shivers and her body wracking with silent sobs underneath the blanket that covered her.

Upon seeing her, Shockwave and Nightflyer both sneered and yelled, "GO TO YOUR ROOM, SUNMIST!"

Old habit cruelly taught to her ever since she could remember, Bumblebee tried to free herself from Jazz's arms and obey her parents. This in turn only increased the Autobots' hatred of the Decepticons. No one should be beaten into submission and to obey. But apparently it was done to the abused girl, now temporarily in their care, so much, that it seemed that it was instinct that led her to obey in order to save herself some harm and grief.

Once again Elita felt her motherly feelings for the child flare up and took Bumblebee from Jazz's arms, holding on to her much like a mother would do to her child. Turning around to face the two Decepticons with the precious gem in her arms, she said with much venom, "Never more will you cause this girl harm!" and walked out the front door with the four males following right behind.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Distrust, Changes, & Surprises**

Elita looked down at the small teenage girl in her arms. It was hard for her to believe that such a sweet thing like her could be treated in such an awful way. But then again, Sunmist was in the care of two of the most horrible Decepticons around. Poor thing. If the child were in her custody, this would never have happened. She and Optimus would have made sure of it. Elita let out a quiet, pain-filled sigh. Seeing this girl reminded of her own daughter, kidnapped when not even a month old, right from hers and Optimus' quarters during a breach of security of the old base. Ever since, Elita and Optimus haven't been the same. But maybe the arrival of Sunmist would fix that.

Bumblebee couldn't stay awake much longer, but she had to in order to stop them from learning more of her past, more of the "punishments" done to her. She deserved them anyway! And it certainly wasn't any of these strangers' business! Oh, if they found out much more, her parents surely would be more than furious with her! Somehow, Bumblebee had to escape them. As that thought crossed her mind, the fight to stay awake ended with Bumblebee losing.

The remaining Autobots back at the base were nervously waiting for their comrades to return with the abused girl they heard about. How bad were her injuries? How would she react to them? Those were the thoughts that were especially running through the heads of Arcee and her friends, and they rather doubted she would trust them all so soon since they had a hand in plan of her secret being found out.

And the Autobot Commander himself also seemed to be having a hard time. The former father was quite nervous. If their only child was still alive, since both he and Elita along with the rest of the Autobots have lost hope that the Commanders' daughter was possibly living, then she would also be this girl's age. Once again, the deep pain of losing his beloved daughter pulsed through him, almost making him lose all composure.

Cliffjumper ran into the room full of waiting Autobots and simply said, "They're back." Gathering themselves up, the Autobots went out to meet with their comrades and what they soon saw appalled them. And what made matters worse was that they couldn't quite believe that even the Decepticons could even be this cruel, to a child no less, even though it was a high possibility they could, and obviously did.

Bumblebee soon awoke from the sleep that claimed her earlier that evening, realizing that she was not only in an unfamiliar bed, but also that she was surrounded by complete strangers and the other teens she met earlier. The five people that took her away from her only home also stood above her.

Eyes widening in fear, 'Bee immediately tried to sit up in order to get away, but was stopped by the firm, yet gentle hands pressing down on her shoulders. Somehow, these hands that held her down were vaguely familiar, just like the woman called Elita did. Looking up, 'Bee immediately regretted it, for her injuries from her earlier punishment that night still hurt like slag and she had yet to "doctor" them since she was taken out of her home while in the middle of a bath.

Seeing her discomfort, Optimus' face softened a bit before calling Ratchet over. Elita looked up at him from her position beside the poor girl, her face showing grief at the situation.

"I'm afraid it's worse than we originally thought, Optimus, sir. Some of this _abuse_," Ratchet all but spat the word, "has become seriously infected because the proper care has not been initiated. This can seriously cause Sunmist here to become seriously ill, and the injuries done to her tonight has done some heavy damage to her. She has a few broken bones and a strained ankle. She won't be able to move much, if at all, until she's healed some."

Optimus growled slightly, not surprised that especially Megatron's right hand man Shockwave would do this to an innocent girl. "How long until you can get some of these injuries stable?"

"Some hours at least, Optimus. Now, if you all will leave, I will get started on Sunmist."

Bumblebee jerked as Optimus asked, "Sunmist?"

Instead of Ratchet answering, it was Elita instead. "Yes, a name that doesn't suit the girl if you ask me. But I guess we can't change her name though." Elita looked down at Bumblebee and continued by saying, "I'm staying in here with her. You'll probably need a woman's touch anyway, Ratchet."

"Of course, Elita."

"Hey! What about us? We're worried just as much as y'all are since we're the ones that suspected a thing since meeting her!" Hot Rod spoke up, Arcee, Blurr, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Springer backing him up.

"Absolutely not. If you want, though, you can wait in the rec room with everyone else. Now if you don't mind, I have to get started. Optimus, please escort them out of here."

"Certainly, Ratchet."

As soon as they left, Ratchet turned to Elita and said, "Keep Sunmist busy while I get the sedative ready." Elita nodded and turned to comfort the girl in front of her.

Bumblebee was mute, not deaf, and so heard what was said and not too happy about it. If the sedative were administered, she wouldn't be able to keep them away from finding out more. Elita must've noticed since not even a minute later she took hold of Bumblebee's hand and tried to soothe her fears away.

Bumblebee wouldn't have it, though. She wanted out of here now. Now. Struggling to sit up, Bumblebee pulled her hand away and backed up against the headboard, mild distrust clearly showing, though the distrust was not whole. Seeing this, Elita knew that "Sunmist" trusted her up to a point and decided to gain her complete trust. Starting by holding her so that the sedative could be administered and her wounds healed.

Elita pulled Bumblebee to her, pinning the girl's arms to her sides in a firm hug, allowing Ratchet complete access to administer the sedative. Ratchet looked at Elita with approval before bending slightly, finally releasing the sedative into Bumblebee's systems.

The prick of the needle scared 'Bee since she never had to put up with one before. As soon as it pierced her skin, she started to squirm harder, trying to get free of the arms wrapped around her, pinning her effectively.

"Shush, now," Elita whispered. "There's nothing to be afraid of here."

Already, the sedative was going into effect, which Bumblebee tried to fight. Whatever it was, it was making her fall into a deep sleep, every last reserve of her struggling fading.

Elita smiled when Sunmist stopped struggling and went limp, indicating that the sedative worked and sleep claimed her. Having the necessary equipment ready, Ratchet started the many hours of strenuous work at stabilizing and healing the girl that lay on the bed in front of him.

Optimus just about couldn't stand it much longer. It's already been four hours since their comrades' arrival back at base, and still there was no news on Sunmist. Optimus also realized that he had to agree with Elita. The name Sunmist really didn't suit that girl. Looking over at the six teens he escorted out of the medbay, Optimus saw that they were having a tough time not just getting up and barging into the medbay to demand updates on Sunmist.

Arcee was more than nervous. And so were her friends. They had heard no updates on the mysterious girl and they wanted nothing more than to go see how she was doing. But that wouldn't do anyone any good. They could only wait. But what would happen to her? Would the Autobots be able to keep her as one of their charges? Like they were? Or would the Autobots have to give her up? Well, one thing was for sure: only time would tell.

Bumblebee wasn't allowed to move the next few weeks. But after a month, what bones that were broken were healed, but her ankle was still tender to stand on although it wasn't any longer strained. Over the time span of that month alone, Bumblebee had changed from being distrustful of others to trusting them completely. She was still mute, Ratchet being quite stumped on that problem, but had no trouble becoming friends with Arcee and them. She also now saw Elita as a mother and Optimus as a father. How she wished that they were her real parents though, instead of Shockwave and Nightflyer. Unfortunately, she forgot about her parents' Commander.

"Sunmist, may we have a word with you?"

Bumblebee looked up from the game that she was playing with her friends. Even though they were figuratively speaking, she was rather curious as to what they wanted to tell her. Getting up, she sent an apologetic glance to her friends and followed the two Autobot Commanders.

Once in a room in which they were ensured some privacy, Optimus Prime and Elita reluctantly got ready to give the girl whom they considered their daughter some very bad news that could very well break her spark.

"Sunmist, we're afraid we have some very bad news," Optimus began.

"Your parents haven't been found guilty at their trial and petitioned that we give you back to them. The court has granted their request and you are to be returned to them within forty-eight hours. There's nothing we can do unless we have solid proof that you were abused at their hands. We're sorry, sweetie. We tried our best in order to keep you," Elita apologized seeing the girls face drain of color. If she had her way, she definitely wouldn't return Sunmist to those Decepticons. And what was worse was that the court that held the girl's parents' trial was made up mostly of Decepticons. In order to gain custody of the child, they would have to supply solid proof before the court that Sunmist was indeed abused.

Letting out a silent sob, Bumblebee couldn't help but begin to shake uncontrollably. She didn't want to go back to her parents! She wanted to stay here! With her new family! And friends!

Seeing her plight, Elita gently pulled the girl into her arms where she hugged her, comforting the distraught girl as much as she could. But it was no use. Within the next two days, she was as worse than dead.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Horrifying Turn of Events! Betrothal to Megatron!**

How could she think that her life couldn't get much worse than it had been before? How could Bumblebee have thought that after her parents had finished beating her and told her what she hoped to never hear? What was worse was that she was to leave with him tonight! Oh, how she wished she could be saved again!

Optimus didn't know what it was, and neither did anyone else, but whatever it was, it was bad. And it had to do with the girl that left them two days ago. Feeling a rage inside him, like years before, Optimus silently vowed to save Sunmist this time around and adopt her in the end.

Hours later, Mirage sat in a tree under the cover of night, recording all of what was being done to poor Sunmist. Hopefully this would be enough for the Autobots to gain custody of her. Once gaining enough footage, Mirage left the residence and went back to base.

Bumblebee noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes before she went up to her room. Moving over to the window, she noticed that somebody, most likely an Autobot, was moving quickly down the street, away from the house she resided in.

Coming over to see what she was looking at, Shockwave snarled and said, "Mirage! Hurry, you pathetic weakling, before that Autobot decides to come back with reinforcements!"

Not wanting to ensue her father's wrath, Bumblebee quickly packed what few items she had, knowing that the Autobots would never make it in time.

Hot Rod had a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling. Sunmist was in trouble, he just knew it. After spending a month together, Sunmist became like a little sister to him. Looking at his friends, he saw that they were the same. Well, except for a certain speedster. Something happened to him since meeting Sunmist, and he wasn't sure what.

Hot Rod turned back around. Whatever it was, he just hoped they would all get to Sunmist in time.

Megatron let loose an evil smile as he looked down at the golden-haired beauty before him, ripe for the picking in more ways than one. Bumblebee felt her spark seize up. Grabbing hold of her arm, Megatron turned to her parents and said, "Once again, Shockwave, you and Nightflyer bother proved that the two of you are my most faithful followers. You shall be rewarded greatly for your loyalty."

Both Shockwave and Nightflyer knelt down and responded, "Thank you, Lord Megatron!"

Smiling once again, Megatron turned toward his vehicle and said, "Come, girl! Before the Autobots arrive!" all the while dragging poor Bumblebee behind him.

They were too late! Sunmist wasn't anywhere around the premises! What made matters worse was that the two Decepticons escaped them and the authorities! This was not going over well for Elita. She wanted Sunmist back with her now!

Putting his arms around his wife, Optimus said, "Don't worry. We may have lost one daughter, but we won't lose this one. We'll find Sunmist and have her back in her arms soon, Elita. I promise, just as soon as we find her…"

Megatron was pleased, very pleased. It seemed that he and his new bride-to-be left just in time. Yes, in order to increase his chances of keeping his prize, he was going to force her to marry him, whether she wanted to or not. And tonight he was going to have his fun with her. Yes, much fun indeed with his Bumblebee.

Bumblebee felt sick. As soon as they entered the house, Megatron forced an engagement ring onto her finger, telling her that if she ever took it off, the consequences would be horrifying. Afterwards, he locked her in "their" room and locked the door, telling her that he would be back in a bit.

Not having anything to do, Bumblebee changed into her nightgown, wishing she was anywhere but here. After changing, 'Bee sat on the edge of the king size bed and started to comb out her hair, giving her something else to do, all the while thinking of her time with the Autobots. What were they doing now? Could they possibly be looking for her at this time?

Unfortunately this led her occupied mind to not being able to notice the bedroom door behind her open and in steps her fiancé. Megatron smirked. This was just perfect. With his new toy preoccupied, this was going to be easier than expected, even though it was going to be too easy to begin with.

Bumblebee felt herself suddenly thrown onto her back, comb dropped on the floor. The bottom of her nightgown was ripped up over her face and her arms were held above her head. Just as suddenly, Bumblebee felt a terrible pain as Megatron thrusted into her hard, taking her and stole her innocence while at the same time the other hand pulled her nightgown down a little bit so that it wouldn't cover her face before cupping her breast and begin rubbing there. Tears flowed down Bumblebee's face knowing that there was nothing she could do to stop this, even as a pair of lips crashed violently against hers and the other's tongue forcing it's way into her mouth, exploring the new area. Bumblebee felt Megatron smile into her mouth and knew that he would never get tired of doing this.


	5. Chapter 5

The next installment of the "Where to Go" series is now posted. The title is "Where to Go: Mysterious Past, Escape to the Future".


End file.
